None.
The present invention is a self-aligning miniature fluid coupling device for welding individual components, connectors, fittings, tubes, conduits, and manifolds. Although the invention is primarily intended for providing connections between lines that convey fluids including gases and liquids, it may also be utilized in situations where tubes are employed to house or shield electrical cables or optical fibers. Another application of the invention is as a miniature sensor that is coupled to a fluid line for registering temperature, pressure, flow-rates, or other physical measurements.
The Self-Aligning SmartStrate(trademark) provides extremely reliable, self-aligning assembly procedure of a fluid coupler and an external component through the use of novel integrally-formed alignment posts, and is easily joined without separate, manually installed threaded screws. These self-aligning, pre-formed posts are a permanent part of the body of coupler, and eliminate the risk of damage to the seals that are employed to ensure a leak-proof coupling between the fluid coupler and an external component. The invention works with other miniaturized fittings, insures design flexibility and manufacturing simplicity, and has the additional advantages of being lighter and less costly than conventional hardware.
Many industries, including the semiconductor industry, use coupling hardware to connect gas lines and components in complex fabrication equipment. Previous connectors that have been incorporated into chip fabrication systems have served the needs of semiconductor manufacturers adequately, but at a high cost in terms of inconvenience and unacceptably high rates of failure. Conventional fluid fittings can be unreliable, especially if the seals which are used to join these fittings to other devices are mis-aligned or have been damaged due to improper installation. The high temperatures and pressures of the gases and liquids transported within these fittings and assemblies can eventually cause a breach of a seal, resulting in a leak that either contaminates the fluid within the line or in a dangerous loss of chemicals to the outside environment.
The Invention described and claimed below is related to earlier Inventions disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,477 entitled Modular Bottle-Mounted Gas Management System by Roderick G. Rohrberg et al., issued on Aug. 8, 1995, and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,645 entitled Method for Supplying Industrial Gases Using Integrated Bottle Controllers by Roderick G. Rohrberg et al., issued on Aug. 18, 1998.
Previous attempts to provide fluid couplers and welding connectors have yielded mixed results. The Nupro Company of Willoughby, Ohio offers a variety of fittings identified by the Swagelok(copyright) Trade Mark. These fittings include substrates, manifold bases, end caps, bridges, surface-mounted diaphragms, bellows metering valves, seals and assembly hardware.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,125,887, which was issued on Oct. 3, 2000 to James V. Pinto, discloses Welded Interconnection Modules for High Purity Fluid Flow Control Applications. Pinto generally claims xe2x80x9ca rectangular metal modular block for directing fluid flow therethrough.xe2x80x9d (Preamble of Claim 1, Column 5, Lines 30-31.) Pinto further recites limitations concerning a xe2x80x9cplurality (sic) of holes receiving fasteners for securing said component to said blockxe2x80x9d (Claim 1, Column 6, Lines 5-6) and a xe2x80x9cplurality of holes receiving fasteners securing at least one said fluid control component to each said blockxe2x80x9d (Claim 4, Column 6, Lines 20-22). Pinto""s Claims require the inclusion of holes that have been pre-formed and tapped in the body of coupler. Pinto""s Claims also require that these tapped holes receive separate fasteners which must be manually installed to connect the body of his device to a block or component. This manual installation is fraught with the risk of mis-aligning the fasteners, stripping their threads, damaging seals or producing a coupling to an external component which is not leak-proof.
The shortcomings of conventional fluid couplers and gas control devices has presented a major challenge to designers in the field of industrial controls. The development of a self-aligning miniaturized, safe, and clean fluid coupler would constitute a major technological advance. The enhanced performance that could be achieved using such an innovative device would satisfy a long felt need within the semiconductor fabrication and fluid handling industries.
The present invention, the Self-Aligning SmartStrate(trademark)provides a radically new, self-aligning fluid coupler which dispenses with the need for separate hand-installed threaded screws. One preferred embodiment comprises a generally rectilinear body having exterior side walls, an upper wall and a lower wall. One or more of the exterior walls may include a side wall port or a weld extension for making connections to external lines. Both these ports and extensions lead into the body, and may connect through an internal passageway to a port that may be located on an upper wall. In a preferred embodiment, the body also includes four pre-formed, integral, self-aligning pins or posts that may be used to connect an external device, block or component to the body. A thin foil sheet that includes alignment holes and xe2x80x9cC-sealsxe2x80x9d is installed between the body and the external device, which is secured in place by a set of retainers that engage the posts.
In one embodiment of the invention, the seal is first installed by aligning the four holes in the sheet bearing the seal with the alignment posts that extend from the body of the coupler. The foil sheet serves as a xe2x80x9cseal positionerxe2x80x9d which holds the seals in the proper location. The seal is properly aligned when the foil sheet is positioned over the posts. By holding the seal in the correct alignment and location, the seal-positioning sheet avoids any unwanted motion, deflection or translation of the seal. Once the seal is properly installed by sliding the seal all the way down so that the seal is in contact with the upper wall of the body, the alignment posts are mated with a corresponding set of holes on an external component. Finally, a set of retainers such as nuts are used to lock the external component to the fluid coupler.
Due to the novel design of the present invention, the correct alignment of the coupler, the seal and the external component does not depend on the skill of the assembler, since no separate screws are required to manually couple the body to an external component. The integrity of the seal and the physical connection between the body and the external component are assured by this self-aligning feature. The present invention provides quality assurance, along with simplicity in installation. The invention also provides for the automatic registration and alignment of the body and the external component.
An appreciation of other aims and objects of the present invention and a more complete and comprehensive understanding of this invention may be achieved by studying the following description of a preferred embodiment, and by referring to the accompanying drawings.